Absolutely I think societal influence has to do with it, that and the environment that they grow up in. I believe that all people are inheirantly good when they start out, but their environment around them and how they grow up changes them into what they become. With so many more children of divorce or single parent families, and more of a gap between the "haves" and the "havenots", it is more of a petry dish to grow ill-advised behavior. But at the same time, I think the news sensationalizes how bad things really are. In the grand scope of things, violent crimes are down, especially violent crimes in schools. I just think that the press has a tendency to make problems seems worse than they are.